Computer Science. (Senior Division 2002).

Martin, R.A., J.D. Martin. Computer Science Department, Southwest Missouri State University. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROFILE OF MISSOURI'S SECONDARY SCHOOLS. The purpose of the study was to gauge the level of information technology courses being taught in Missouri's secondary schools. Surveys were mailed to 498 Missouri high schools in February 2001. Follow-ups were done via e-mail one month after the surveys were mailed. A total of 321 surveys were returned for a response rate of 64%. This is an unusually good response rate for a mail survey and suggests a high degree of interest in information technology issues. Most schools offered courses in keyboarding and computer literacy, while few offered AP Intro Computer Science courses. Nearly half of the schools (45%) indicated that their schools did offer programming courses. The most widely taught skill was word processing, followed by electronic spreadsheet and desktop publishing. Ethical issues were least likely to be taught. Each school was given a technology score based on the number of courses and skills taught. Scores ranged from 2 to 15. Significant differences were found by enrollment and urban/rural status. Among larger schools, 70% had technology scores of 11 or above, compared to 47% or less for smaller schools (p<.005). Scores of 11 or above were more likely to be found in urban schools (59%) than rural schools (44%), p<.01. Virtually all of the responding schools reported that they offered some information technology courses. However, the number and type of courses, as well as the skills taught, varied widely.

Naugler, D. R., Department of Computer Science, Southeast Missouri Stateb University. FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING IN JAVA. In functional languages such as Scheme or SML functions can be passed as parameters, can be constructed in other functions and returned as values. This allows a style of programming that is quite distinct from the that used with languages such as Pascal, C or C++. Superficially, Java has no functions; however, using interfaces and the inner classes that have fairly recently been added to the Java language it is fairly easy to mimic some of the features of functional programming. Using an interface for real functions, it is shown how to write functions that take functions as parameters and construct and return new functions. Both simple examples (such as creating a function which is the sum of two functions given as parameters, or creating the composition of two functions) and more complex examples such as generating a function representing the a finite number of terms of a Fourier series given the coefficients, and generating a function which is an approximation to an indefinite integral of a given function are shown. It is not advocated that functional programming be taught in Java-languages such as SML are much superior for that task. Rather, students can use modes of thinking learned in a study of a functional languages directly in programmes written in Java.

Naugler, D. R., Department of Computer Science, Southeast Missouri State University. THE ROLE OF THEORY IN THE UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTER SCIENCE CURRICULUM. Opinion among computer science teachers on the role of theory in the undergraduate computer science curriculum differs widely. Since such teachers may come from highly varied backgrounds and from distinctly different educational generations, there is not any easy consensus on what, precisely, theory is, let alone on its role in undergraduate education. Indeed a given instructor in a given course may be viewed as too theoretical by one colleague and too 'hands-on" by another. The Computer Science discipline has its roots in both the mathematical and the engineering sciences; it has resemblances to both yet is clearly neither one. Many Computer Science teachers were originally in one or the other of these areas. The notion of theory and its role in undergraduate Computer Science Education is explored starting with views expressed by a selection of the field's founding practitioners, some of whom are still active teachers. Whatever theory is, its main purpose should be to directly or indirectly inform practice. It is noted that in a discipline as relatively new as computer science a divergence of opinion on the role of theory is to be expected and is probably healthy.

Shade, E. Computer Science Department, Southwest Missouri State University. LANGUAGES + INTERPRETERS + AUTOMATA + COMPUTABILITY = THEORY OF COMPUTATION. Computer science programs traditionally include courses both in programming languages and theory of computation. Theory of computation is important, but it is normally taught using a theorem/proof approach, and in my experience this causes many students to miss the point. I prefer a more applied approach where the theory is used to build useful programs. Programming languages are important, but it is not clear that we need an entire course devoted to the subject, especially since popular languages like C++ and Java already contain virtually all the imperative features typically covered in such a course. What remains is alternative programming paradigms like functional and logic programming, and material related to the implementation of programming languages. But I use a functional language in theory of computation, and many of the applications are interpreter s for small languages. Because of this overlap, I propose replacing these two three-hour courses with a single four-hour course. It will be a better course and will free up space in the curriculum.

Wang, Y. Department of Computer Science, Southwest Missouri State University. A COMPARISON OF EASTERN AND WESTERN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES. Statistics have shown that American students at many levels do not do as well on tests of mathematical and scientific achievement as some of their foreign counterparts, most notably in Asia. Their former superior position on practical problem solving abilities seems to be slipping gradually also. This situation has caught the attention of many educators from the elementary level to the university. In order to provide students the best education possible and to continuously improve the quality of the education system in the United States, it is necessary to find the strengths and the weaknesses of the system, compared with other education systems. In this paper, the author, who has taught in universities in both China and the United States for a number of years, compares the educational experiences with these two different education systems. Some major differences in the We stern and Eastern educational philosophies, such as emphasizing theoretic subjects vs. practical subjects, are discussed. Other less well-known differences in the training and facilitation processes of teachers of higher education are pointed out. Variations in the teaching practices of the two countries are also mentioned.